The Spanish word I've heard used for "kite" most often is cometa, but Wordreference.com lists several other, e.g. papalote, cachirulo, and barrilete. So imagine my surprise when my uncle
texted me from the Festival of Kites in my grandmother's hometown of Isabel, Puerto Rico. Chiringa doesn't show up in Wordreference.com, but SpanishDictionary.com translated it as "kite" with the note that it was a Caribbean regionalism. A quick Google search corroborated this. The
things you don't learn on the street!AKgringo - 4-7-2026 at 09:25 AM
I wonder if a parasail or hang glider would be considered a 'Chiringa'?lencho - 4-7-2026 at 11:20 AM
Terms may be discussed there without being a heading in the dictionaries; go to the Spanish/English forum and use the search box tor "chiringa".
(Which produces a number of discussions about the term).
I doubt it, but Paul could ask his uncle about Puerto Rico...
[Edited on 4-7-2026 by lencho]RnR - 4-9-2026 at 08:29 AM
Commonly referred to locally as a "Papalote".
pauldavidmena - 4-10-2026 at 04:30 AM
My uncle grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where all the Puerto Rican kids used the word chiringa for kite. He scolded me for not knowing
that (I grew up in the suburbs and Spanish was not spoken in my house). He laughed when I asked about hang gliders, which I suppose weren't very
common in the projects.
